Old subordinates of King Ning! To everyone present, this was a heart-wrenching word!
Shang Jianxiong felt his chest tighten. Why did he carry out the purge back then? He was afraid that the situation would go out of control! In the end, the purge was not complete and the situation that he did not want to see still happened. He was filled with hatred!
His hatred for the three major sects was even deeper. If not for the three major sects holding him back, how could the purge not have been thorough?
But then again, the purge was successful because of the three major sects. Otherwise, they would not have dared to do anything to a group of generals with military power. Unfortunately, he did not know how to appreciate the three major sects and only remembered the bad side.
What saddened him even more was that now that things had come to this, he no longer dared to remove the Shang Dynasty's military power. He no longer dared to issue that decree.
At this moment, Chief Eunuch Tian Yu quickly entered and reported, "Your Majesty, Violet Gold Cave's Sect Master Gong Lince has left for the frontline to look for Meng Shanming."
With the military power in the hands of the imperial court out of control, the three major sects would definitely need to help.
Tong Mo nodded and said, "I hope that Sect Master Gong can solve this problem."
Shang Jianxiong said in a deep voice, "We can't place all our hopes on the three major sects. We have to be prepared. Pass down the secret decree and order the troops gathered in the north to get ready. If the three major sects fail to solve the problem, they will immediately send a group to the capital! "
As the commander-in-chief, Shang Yongzhong had to remind him, "Your Majesty, if the troops gathered in the north are sent away, the defense line will be slack and the Han army will invade anytime!"
Shang Jianxiong was infuriated. He grabbed the paperweight on the table and threw it at Tong Mo. "Isn't it all your fault? If you didn't let Wu Gongling escape, we wouldn't have this problem in the future!"
The paperweight fell to the ground. Shang Yongzhong wanted to dodge but didn't dare to. It hit his shoulder and caused his face to twitch in pain.
He didn't dare to say anything else but he felt very sullen. It was said that in times of peace, civil officials ruled the world and in times of war, military officials ruled the world. As the commander-in-chief, even he felt sullen.
Tong Mo and Gao Jiancheng looked at each other and could understand the emperor's feelings. Once the capital was lost and the imperial army couldn't be sent to the capital, the emperor's prestige would be unimaginable.
Moreover, the capital's status was far too important. It could not be lost.
Once they were forced to evacuate the capital, putting aside whether or not they could abandon the officials and their families, it was easy to imagine what would happen to the Emperor's countless concubines once they fell into the hands of the rebel army. How could His Majesty endure this?
They couldn't abandon the officials and concubines, right? If he threw away a large number of court officials and only brought along a concubine, that would be giving up the country for the beauties. Once the Emperor left, he could forget about coming back. Without the support of the officials, could he control the entire Yan Kingdom with just the Emperor and a few court officials?
Of course, for the top officials of the imperial court like them, if they really had to evacuate, the imperial court would find a way to take their families with them. As for the other officials, it was hard to say.
The problem was that they couldn't let the officials of the capital think of a way to send their families away. Otherwise, the common people wouldn't be blind. How could they not see so many officials moving their families away? The consequences would be unthinkable. Before the enemy army could reach the capital, the capital would fall into chaos.
This was the difficulty of managing a large family. There were too many things to worry about.
The Song army's attack on the capital brought unimaginable fear to the Yan court. Luo Zhao's strategy had hit the Yan Kingdom's weak spot.
…
After Meng Shanming gave the order to withdraw and gave up on stopping the Song army, the Song army was almost unobstructed in the Yan territory.
There were some small problems. The soldiers of the various prefectures of the Yan kept on harassing the Song army. They dug roads, blocked roads, and broke bridges. In short, they were doing everything they could to slow down the Song army. However, they could only delay the Song army for a little bit.
The army moved forward to rest and reorganize. An empty relay station became a temporary tent for the army.
Ever since the Wan Shou Sect sold the golden communication wings, the relay stations became less useful.
Smoke rose in the relay station. In the hall of the relay station, Luo Zhao looked at the map hanging on the wall. Meng Shanming's action caught him by surprise.
Su Yuanbai, Dong Yinglai, and Chang Fei all looked back at Wen You who was walking in quickly.
Wen You nodded to them and walked to Luo Zhao to report, "Our spies have reported that Meng Shanming is indeed evacuating the Yan army. Meng Shanming gathered three million soldiers and reorganized the army into five routes. They are all retreating to the East River. "
The East River was the river that the Yan and Song ruled. Hearing this, Su Yuanbai, Dong Yinglai, and Chang Fei, who were drinking tea, couldn't sit still. They put down their teacups and stood up.
Wen You continued, "According to the spies in the East River, the Yan army is cutting down trees and making wooden rafts. Obviously, they are preparing to cross the river. It seems that Meng Shanming wants to give up on helping Yan Jing and attack Song. "
Su Yuanbai said, "Is Meng Shanming really going to watch Yan Jing fall?"
"Alas!" Luo Zhao stared at the map and sighed, "I underestimated Meng Shanming's influence in the Yan army. I didn't expect that he could control the Yan army so quickly. He controlled the advance and retreat of the Yan army as if it was his own arm! The Yan army is in chaos and the morale is low. But he managed to control it so quickly. This old man is really not simple. "
Dongying Lai said, "Didn't the Governor say that the Yan Imperial Court would order him to come to our aid and intercept our army?"
Luo Zhao said, "That's for sure! The situation within the imperial court of each country was pretty much the same. It all depended on which country's monarch was better at controlling the situation. There was no lack of a bunch of selfish villains in the imperial court of each country. They would definitely think of protecting themselves first when something happened. Those people would not care about the lives of the generals and soldiers below them. In their eyes, if they could not even protect themselves, what was the point of the lives of the generals and soldiers below them? It is inevitable that the court will order Meng Shanming to stop our army. But … "
He paused, stared at the map and shook his head, "According to my previous prediction, Meng Shanming will have to listen to the court and be exhausted by our army. I really didn't expect Meng Shanming to gain control of the military power so quickly. Judging from his current actions … he is definitely using the military power to resist the Yan Court's order. He already knows that his life is at stake and it's unlikely that he will listen to the imperial court anymore. I guess he will not obey the Emperor's orders when he is outside. I'm afraid my plan of exhausting him and exhausting him to death is going to fail. He won't fall for it at all. This old guy is really experienced on the battlefield! "
Chang Fei said in a low voice, "Once he invades Song, it will be troublesome. Should we retreat and turn to attack?"
Wen You shook his head and said, "No! If we retreat now, we will fall into Meng Shanming's trap. We will let Meng Shanming solve the crisis in Yan Jing City and prove that he was right to go against the imperial court's order. This must be Meng Shanming's plan. "
Luo Zhao nodded slightly. This was the dilemma he was in. He didn't expect that Meng Shanming could control the army of the Yan court so quickly when the Yan court was in chaos. Meng Shanming only needed to retreat to put Luo Zhao in a dilemma.
The reason why he miscalculated was that he didn't expect Meng Shanming could control the army of the Yan court so quickly.
He was a man who had been separated from the military power of Great Yan for a long time, and he was a crippled old man. Yet, when he was faced with all the feudal vassals who had their own armies, and the army of the imperial court, which was out of place, he was able to regain control of the military of Great Yan.
Others might not understand it, but those who had been in the army for a long time knew what it meant. It was really amazing!
This was something Luo Zhao didn't even dream of. Even though it was a fait accompli, it was still hard for him to imagine.
Chang Fei stared at Wen You and said, "Are you going to let Meng Shanming invade Song?"
Luo Zhao laughed coldly and said, "My Great Song is not that easy to attack. How can we not defend our rear when we attack? There are two million soldiers stationed along the banks of the East Domain River. It is difficult to cross the river. Do you think that three million soldiers can easily break through my defensive line?"
Su Yuanbai was confused and asked, "If you are so confident, why are you still hesitating in front of the map?"
Luo Zhao waved his hand and said, "I am not hesitating. I am calculating how long the provisions in Meng Shanming's hands can last. This will decide whether my army will continue with the original plan or retreat. "
Su Yuanbai said, "What do you think, Governor?"
Luo Zhao's eyes returned to the map. He stared at the defensive troops along the East River of the Song and studied them again. He repeatedly demonstrated the attack and defense in his mind.
He stood there motionlessly for nearly an hour.
The few of them knew that he was about to make an important decision and was thinking carefully. They didn't dare to disturb him and disturb his train of thought. They just waited quietly at the side.
After a while, Luo Zhao let out a long breath. His eyes turned resolute and said, "Meng Shanming's provisions can't last for ten days. Our defensive troops along the river are not made of paper. I have repeatedly deduced that no matter how powerful Meng Shanming is, I don't believe that our defense line can't last for ten days. Meng Shanming is probably trying to lure my troops to retreat and help Yan Jing out. "
He looked back at the crowd and said, "The Kingdom War is a test of national strength. The provisions are the Yan army's fatal weakness! Meng Shanming has been attacking for a long time and has exhausted his provisions. He will definitely be defeated without a fight. Why should I retreat? If I retreat now, I will fall into his trap. Once he succeeds, it will be no different from him proving to Yan Jing that his strategy is correct. It will allow him to obtain greater autonomy and make it easier for him to control the troops of the imperial court. It will be disadvantageous for our army to fight back against such a troop. Now, we should continue to march towards Yan Jing and continue to pressure it. Yan Jing is no longer a threat. Our main strategy is still to force the Han Empire to send out their troops! "
Pa! He slapped the map on the wall and said with a powerful voice, "I have made up my mind. We cannot let Meng Shanming lead us by the nose. The army will continue to advance. The plan to take Yan Jing will not change!"
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